‘More than 40% of women and more than 18% of men have experienced some form of unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace’, says the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC).

WEC have launched a full February 2018 inquiry on sexual harassment in the workplace and they are inviting submissions of written evidence.

This inquiry will sit alongside their related inquiry on the Sexual harassment of women and girls in public places.

WEC are inviting written evidence specifically on:

How widespread sexual harassment in the workplace is, and whether this has increased or decreased over time
Who experiences sexual harassment in the workplace, who perpetrates it and what the impact is on different groups
Actions that the Government and employers should be taking to change workplace culture to prevent sexual harassment, give people more confidence to report sexual harassment, and make this issue a higher priority for employers
How workers can be better protected from sexual harassment by clients, customers and other third parties
The effectiveness and accessibility of tribunals and other legal means of redress and what can be done to improve those processes
the advantages and disadvantages of using non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases, including how inappropriate use of such agreements might be tackled.
Find out more on the WEC website.

‘There is significant under-representation of women in executive levels’, says the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC).

As a result, WEC have launched a follow-up 2017 inquiry into women in executive management.

The committee will build on its recent work on this issue with a one-off evidence session looking at:

How the situation for women in senior roles has changed since the Committee last took evidence
The barriers to women achieving senior positions
The measures being taken by organisations to improve the situation
Effectiveness of Government action to date and what further Government action is needed.
Find out more on the WEC website.

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has announced new proposals to streamline and de-medicalise the process for changing gender. A consultation on the Gender Recognition Act 2004 will be launched in Autumn 2017.

Karima Bennoune, UN Special Rapporteur, invites stakeholders to contribute to a consultation on the impact of fundamentalism and extremism on the cultural rights of women. Submissions must be made by 19 May 2017.

The Women and Equalities Select Committee has called for evidence on responses made by the Government to three recommendations made in the Committee’s March 2016 report. Evidence should reach the Committee by 12 April 2017.

A March 2016 report by the Women and Equalities Select Committee says the gender pay gap will persist unless Government policy changes. The Government responded in February 2017, rejecting most of the report’s recommendations.

The Fawcett Society launched a review into sex discrimination law in post-Brexit Britain in January 2017. The review also considered current laws and how to best balance the rights of the individual with the responsibilities of the organisation.